davb

This news made the Thai baht weaker to the US dollar. Does this reflect the people think Thailand will be hurt by this, such as by losing the transshipments, or is it because the US dollar is stronger due to a favorable trade deal being accomplished?

I agree on this. Maybe that's why the Thai military has been so restrained - they are protecting civilians but realize there is personal stuff going on. Supposedly Hun Sen started positioning his military in February, which is when Thailand inexplicably sent some of the Uyghurs back to China, so maybe that country is somehow involved also.

This is true, but people like my sister-in-law desperately wanted her daughter to be educated here in Bangkok and it was stunningly awful. I talk to that girl and I know she's not dumb and she even has some sort of college degree, but she can barely read. Forget about having her read beyond two sentences - she just spaces out. I think there's something that actively harms the students in the education system/culture here. Critical thinking and curiosity can't be taught because they are natural, but they can definitely be taken away and that seems to happen a lot.

Thanks. Good point about all these other places having copies. I wasn't sure if a US passport had more information or "value" in it.

A couple of times now I've been asked by Cannabis sellers to take a picture of my US passport. I declined, they were cool with it, and I completed my purchase. My understanding is that they need to do this as part of the new regulations. If they strictly enforce it, is it a bad thing to let photos of my passport be floating around?

Based on this recommendation I ordered one last night. I thought it was good, and for sure the best I've had in Thailand. It wasn't sweet, the crust had the right amount of chewy, and it had enough cheese. Not as good as the best US ones. The 12-inch pizza was 500 baht, which seemed like a bit much, but I'll keep an eye out for specials and order again.

I similar experience with two Thai veterinarians. I didn't realize there were cultural aspects to this, but they definitely did not like being questioned. It was simply buy the pills they were selling and follow orders.

You might consider buying a Chromebook off of Amazon. If Trump gets Thailand to lower its tariffs, the cost will go down in August. Chromebooks are basically just browsers with a keyboard, but if you aren't running local apps it is fine. Lightweight, and long battery life.

I asked Bangkok Bank (two years ago) if I could do this and they said no.

I'm thinking of doing the same thing. My main account with the visa money is in Bangkok Bank and I never touch it. Right now for "scan" I use my wife's Bangkok Bank account that is on the app on my phone. I keep hearing how the app is being disabled for people with a SIM card that doesn't match the name of the account they use, so I want a second account for the day-to-day stuff. Kasikorn?

Understood, but what visa are they using to stay in Thailand?

Are Thai authorities looking the other way regarding visa overstays? If not, how can they avoid being drafted with a trip to Thailand?

My wife and I go to food courts a lot - it's a great deal and it's a better class of people than the ones who go to food courts in the US.

Ten years in prison seems really excessive. Do we assume she was doing something else and this is just how they wanted to handle it publicly?

All the genetic engineering has made it worse. It mostly just creates a cloudy mind now.

Up until 1959, the Thai government owned a monopoly on the sale of opium and it was quite profitable for them, so there is historical precedent for this.

My Thai wife says Thaksin has a drug-addicted son and that's why he hates Cannabis.

Exactly. The could if they wanted to, but I assume there is a small group of people at the top making a huge amount of money from the Thai tariffs and they won't want to give that up.

All the sellers of cannabis seeds are gone now also, though they were legitimate.

Yes. I let it get too low and suddenly have a bunch of unexpected expenses. It's not the worst problem in the world.

I have a Levoit. I was still miserable during the air pollution season this year in Bangkok. When they estimate the size of house each one can cover, mine is at the very edge of the range. Next time I would buy multiple ones, or at least a bigger one, but I'm not sure how well they actually work. Our house isn't sealed very well.

They mentioned telemedicine, meaning they will be able to set up a tablet so people can talk to some centralized doctor, assuming a conversation is even necessary. It may just be a web form to fill out that a doctor somewhere else approves. Scam.

I keep seeing comments like "It's just HiSo losing their money" but that's not what I've seen, except in the center of Bangkok. Elsewhere they are entrepreneurial kids creating a new culture and having fun.

After seeing how they manipulated the number of "Covid infections" by fooling with the tests, I'm skeptical of this supposed outbreak which just so happens to lead to a lifetime taking profitable pharma drug.

Didn't he go crazy during Covid pushing the shots, mix-and-match the shots, as long you get as many shots as possible?